Advice on a proper vice..?

[iamasmith]

What to get for my next vice

I started tying flies again just before Christmas and had my first trip out to the Trout Lakes last Thursday, my first trip in 25 years, where I landed a nice 2lb 2oz Rainbow which gave me the enjoyment and confidence again in the sport.

The vice that I got before Christmas was the cheapest of cheap things which I admittedly bought as a stopgap with a view to buying something of better quality later and the only thing great that you can say about it is that it holds a hook well and is nice and slim so as not to get in the way of the tying.

The jaws are pretty chunky but I have learned to live with that to a certain extent. The main things are that it is stiff and awkward to adjust between hook sizes and it lacks any ability to rotate the fly. Now that I'm tying a lot of Nymphs etc. I find that I really want to be able to rotate and inspect the fly and keep it in the vice whilst doing this. Partly for visual inspection and partly for lacquer coating on some of the 'Copper Johns' etc.

So, I started to google around quite a bit and found a few things..

1. Dynaking Danvise seems to be a popular choice but seems to be now only available through Orvis in the UK (as an OEM model), nobody seems to have it in stock to actually look at locally. I'm concerned that it looks fairly chunky and that I'll find it getting in the way compared with what I'm used to. Also I have heard that the shaft is larger than most vices so clamp on add ons probably won't fit unless specifically designed.

2. A few other rotaries on a budget price like the Anvil and the Peak models are either grossly inflated in UK sales or not available without importing them myself and I have concerns over the possibility that there may be something wrong and I would be at the mercy of a lengthy RMA process.

3. Vices like the Scotty by John Weaver sound good but I'm concerned that the family business doesn't seem to be the main focus any more.

4. Dyna-King stuff looks bullet proof but it seems to ignore the exchange rate... i.e. for a bog standard vice folks should be charging around £90 based on current exchange rates but currently they run about £120.

5. I took a look at a Veniard #1 today and was NOT impressed by the build quality at all. The jaws were misaligned to the extent that there was a good 1/2m difference between their lengths.

So, I have been casting around comparing apples with oranges no doubt but what I have been trying to do is to try and find something with a good value proposition rather than a set cheap price.

I would happily pay just as much for a great quality vice that had the basic features that I want rather than an all singing all dancing model that had features that I could work around or live without.

My interests are for trout flies, nymphs and dry patterns in the main so tube fly features aren't important for me.

My gut reaction is to go for a base model Dyna-King and overcome my objection to the 'brit tax'. This I feel will give me a solid vice that will last me for years to come, give me the ability to rotate the thing for inspection and applying resin etc. and I get that warm feeling about the quality :P

Anybody have anything to suggest?

[lotto1]

Iamasmith, I saw a dynaking vice advertised on the classifieds. Don't know if it is sold though. May be worth a look.
Hope this helps

Willie

[draycote flyer]

I brought a HMH Sparten a short while ago and im very pleased with it.
Around £135 from orvis,took about a week to get here fom U.S.A.
All depends on your tastes and budget i had a good look around before i made my mind up.
Best of luck!

Craig

[BRUCE1]

how much do you want to spend ?

do you want a rotary ?

c clamp or pedastal ?

[mart_s]

Originally Posted by barbusbruce

how much do you want to spend ?

do you want a rotary ?

c clamp or pedastal ?

bruce do you want to borrow my vice it ties up a mighty size 14 pink shrimp for pike my mate landed it later it nabbed a little grayling he was playing he ended up with 16 or 17 but trotting doesn't count.


sorry for the hijack

[iamasmith]

Originally Posted by barbusbruce

how much do you want to spend ?

do you want a rotary ?

c clamp or pedastal ?

Spend will be variable depending on how good I feel about the purchase but I should probably limit that to around £150 max. At this end though I would want it to tick all my 'personal boxes' study, precise, very useable.. getting on for an heirloom :P

No, I don't need rotary I just want to have a vice that isn't finicky that I can rotate the fly with (but not full rotary). I do appreciate quality engineering though

C clamp.

Any thoughts?

[BRUCE1]

Originally Posted by iamasmith

Spend will be variable depending on how good I feel about the purchase but I should probably limit that to around £150 max. At this end though I would want it to tick all my 'personal boxes' study, precise, very useable.. getting on for an heirloom :P

No, I don't need rotary I just want to have a vice that isn't finicky that I can rotate the fly with (but not full rotary). I do appreciate quality engineering though

C clamp.

Any thoughts?

dont we all but think it would be more than £150 to acquire that

Renzetti 2200 Cam Traveler - Lakeland Fly-Tying Limited

[iamasmith]

Originally Posted by barbusbruce

Renzetti 2200 Cam Traveler - Lakeland Fly-Tying Limited[/url]

Thanks barbusbruce, I came across that one on my many searches and have heard good things.

The thing that put me off was that maybe I could get an even better engineered bit of kit by not shelling out for features that I don't necessarily need.

Do you (or anyone) have first hand experience of this model?

Regards,

-Andy

[seanie]

The Griffin vices are quite good. I have a patriot and find it is more than adequate for general tying.

[ickypimp]

I am using the renzetti traveller cam.. it is really nice kit, well made holds a good range of hook sizes and will last years